A North Carolina dad lost his job for doing coke, and he's currently awaiting trial for dealing. But he still has partial custody of his kids — and because she won't let them go to his house, his ex-wife could go to jail.

WCNC reports that David Edward Kennedy was fired from his job with the city of Charlotte, NC when he failed a drug test, and in November, he was indicted on federal cocaine trafficking charges. Since that time, his ex-wife (who is unnamed) hasn't let their kids visit him. His lawyer says, "There is no reason for Mother to deny Father access to the minor children. Mother is acting in a hateful and spiteful way toward Father and she is not acting in the best interest of the children." And Judge Charlotte Brown agrees, saying, "Even if he was indicted with 20 kilos of cocaine…there has to be some danger to the child. If the child was in the car with him while he was making a drug deal or subjecting a child to maybe guns, then I could see the emergency." That means if Kennedy's ex doesn't let the kids see their dad, she could be jailed for contempt.

The mom, not oddly, does see the emergency in leaving her kids alone with someone who has been unable to hold a job due to his drug use, and has been arrested for drug dealing (he's also reportedly confessed). She says, "I'm doing the right thing for the kids. And I know that I am if going to jail is what happens, that's what happens." We don't know much about David Kennedy, and it's certainly possible that he was the Best Dad Ever except for the whole coke-trafficking thing, but doesn't selling drugs kind of by definition put your kids in jeopardy? The judge's ruling is so odd that it seems like there must be more to the story, and maybe there is — the mom's lawyers say Brown has a personal bias in the case, and should be removed.